39% of employees polled by BlessingWhite say their senior leaders don’t act in accordance with their company’s guiding principles, possibly resulting in mixed messages about what those corporate values really are.

Many organizations create a list of values, hang it up in the break room, and call it a day. People forget and ignore the list, and it gets less attention than the Chinese takeout menu hidden under the microwave.

Yet reinforcing company values is the surest way to ensure that employees aren’t just embracing them but also reflecting them in their everyday work. And surveys are an excellent way to monitor if and how employees are integrating corporate values into their work performance.

Consider these survey questions:

With eyes closed and fingers crossed, can you recite your organization's vision, mission, and cultural values?

What three words would you use to describe our culture?

Posing just one of these questions offers team leaders an immediate read on their employees’ perception of corporate values. Some companies may find that their employees can recite corporate values with their eyes closed. More likely, there will be large knowledge gaps.

One great thing to remember is that responding to surveys is a surefire way to help instill those values in your employees. Every time you acknowledge responses, you promote the value of listening. And when you thank your respondents, even when they offer negative feedback, you demonstrate an openness to communication. Meanwhile, acting on feedback helps shows a commitment to change and action.

If you embody your values, they’re bound to brush off on your employees and your overall corporate culture.

STORY TIME

Proving Transparency

Client: Boutique consulting company

Challenge:
How to prove to employees that an organization truly values transparency

Story: The CEO of our client company prided himself on transparency and was confident that he conveyed this to his team. Yet when he and other senior managers used a survey to measure their employees’ attitudes toward company transparency, they were floored. The majority of employees agreed ... this was not a transparent organization!

To prove that they were truly committed to transparency, our client asked the ultimate transparency question of their employees: "Ask us anything, and we’ll answer each and every question." Their employees took them up on that offer, asking extremely sensitive questions, including the maximum salary per position within the organization. And the team answered every single question. As the CEO explains it, “We shared our responses with the entire team — this was really well received, and we're going to do it regularly. Thanks to TINYpulse, we were able to identify and directly address the issue extremely quickly and effectively.”